Wang Chen still hadn't forgotten about the strange egg he had obtained as a reward.

From time to time, his consciousness would drift into the Tower of Infinite Enlightenment's waiting space, carefully observing the egg as if it were a sleeping volcano. It lay there in silence, its smooth shell faintly warm, ancient runic patterns occasionally flickering across its surface like breathing veins of light. No cracks. No movement. No ominous heartbeat echoing through space.

Which, frankly, worried him even more.

This wasn't an ordinary beast egg that would hatch into a loyal pet after a few days of feeding it qi. This was an ancient divine beast's egg—the kind of thing that, once hatched, could either become a heaven-shaking ally… or the reason one's bones were scattered across three realms.

Who knew what kind of monster was sealed inside?

Floating before Wang Chen was a rectangular sigil, its surface carved with dense, archaic symbols that twisted subtly when stared at for too long. Golden radiance poured from it in steady pulses, each one carrying a heavy aura of authority and suppression.

A superior-grade beast contract.

Beast contracts were rare treasures, and their grades determined how much control the contractor could exert over the beast. Low-tier contracts were barely better than gambling with one's life. Mid-tier contracts offered stability, but still left room for betrayal. As for superior-grade contracts—those were treasures sought after even by major sects.

An eighty percent success rate.

In other words, still a gamble… just one with better odds.

Wang Chen's eyes widened slightly. Instinctively, he activated his Fortune Vision.

The world shifted.

In his perception, a faint, dim golden glow radiated from his body—thin, fragile, barely clinging to existence. He frowned and examined it again, carefully, from multiple angles.

No change.

Still pitiful. Still depressing.

He deactivated the vision and let out a quiet breath.

"Good," he muttered. "At least it's not my luck suddenly improving. That would've been terrifying."

Which meant this treasure hadn't come to him because of fortune smiling upon him.

Then there was only one other explanation.

The image of Young Master Yun flashed through his mind—the writhing, twisted aura of calamity, the countless invisible filaments of misfortune crawling over his body like parasitic insects. A walking disaster magnet.

"So it really was his bad luck," Wang Chen murmured.

The realization sent a chill down his spine.

Luck and calamity were two sides of the same coin. To siphon benefit from someone else's misfortune was not something one could do lightly. Still, as unsettling as the thought was, it also deepened Wang Chen's understanding of fate itself.

At the very least, he now knew one thing clearly.

That egg wasn't meant to stay dormant forever.

Wang Chen's gaze returned to the ancient sigil floating before him, its golden symbols reflecting faintly in his eyes.

"Hmmm…" he mused softly. "I should try forming a beast contract with the egg."

This time, there was urgency beneath his calm.

Because once that thing hatched without a contract in place… there would be no second chances.

He had always been searching for a beast contract.

Now that one had practically walked into his hands on its own, there was no reason to hesitate. Opportunities like this did not come twice—especially not when tied to an ancient divine beast.

With his decision made, Wang Chen wasted no time. His consciousness shifted, locking onto the Tower of Infinite Enlightenment's waiting area where the ancient beast egg floated quietly in the void.

The moment his attention settled on it, the egg reacted.

The faint, gentle glow on its shell abruptly turned sharp and violent, the runes pulsing with hostility. An oppressive aura rippled outward, carrying a clear warning—do not come closer.

Wang Chen's brows lifted slightly.

"So it already has a sense of self…"

Still unhatched, yet already capable of sensing danger and resisting it. The realization made the urgency in Wang Chen's heart spike. A beast like this, once born without restraint, would be a calamity waiting to happen.

If it was already this cunning now, what would it become after hatching?

Without hesitation, Wang Chen retrieved the superior-grade beast contract.

The moment the contract appeared, the egg went berserk.

It trembled violently, then shot backward like a frightened comet, attempting to flee deeper into the waiting space. The runes on its surface flared wildly, its resistance frantic and desperate.

"Hmmm."

Wang Chen let out a cold snort, his expression turning indifferent.

"Don't even think about escaping," he said calmly, his voice carrying unquestionable authority.

"This is your fate. You were born to serve me."

His gaze sharpened.

Without further delay, Wang Chen bit down lightly and spat a drop of soul blood onto the contract.

The instant the blood made contact, the sigil reacted.

Boom.

The contract shattered into countless particles of golden light, flooding the space like a divine explosion. Two blazing streams shot forth—one sinking into Wang Chen's body, the other piercing directly into the struggling egg.

A spider-like sigil with eight interlocking limbs formed on the eggshell, its lines sinking deep and becoming one with the ancient runes already carved there.

The egg froze.

The violent trembling stopped as if a switch had been flipped.

"Hmmm… so this is the link."

Wang Chen felt it immediately.

A thin, invisible thread stretched between his soul and the egg—fragile in appearance, yet unbreakable in essence. With a single thought, he could command it. With another, he could snuff out its life entirely.

Absolute control.

Yet even as the contract settled, Wang Chen's eyes narrowed.

The contract had bound its fate—but it had not erased its will.

From the other end of the connection, he felt it clearly.

Hatred.

Cold, ancient, and vicious.

The egg loathed him.

Wang Chen felt no discomfort from that realization. Instead, the corner of his lips twitched faintly.

"So what if you hate me?"

Your life is already in my hands.

Still, despite his confidence, his vigilance did not lessen in the slightest. Wang Chen understood one immutable truth: the world was never static. Circumstances changed. Variables multiplied. What was controlled today might become a threat tomorrow.

That was why he never trusted anything blindly.

With a thought, he drew the egg out of the tower's waiting space and into reality.

He intended to keep it close.

Very close.

Now that the contract had been successfully formed, Wang Chen was no longer worried about sudden betrayal—but that did not mean he would lower his guard.

Inside the meditation chamber, the egg floated silently in midair.

Its shell glowed softly as countless runes rearranged themselves, forming intricate, ever-shifting mystical patterns—ancient, profound, and unmistakably dangerous.

Something inside was stirring.

And this time, it could no longer escape.

Wang Chen stared at the egg floating before him, his brows slowly knitting together.

"What exactly am I supposed to feed you so you grow properly…?"

From his experience, most beast eggs absorbed ambient qi to mature. Some rarer ones required blood essence, spiritual stones, or elemental treasures. But this was no ordinary egg—it was an ancient divine beast's egg. There was no precedent, no manual, no convenient system tooltip explaining its diet.

Which, frankly, annoyed him.

He had only just begun organizing his thoughts when something subtle shifted.

A disturbance.

Wang Chen's eyes narrowed instantly.

The thin, invisible thread connecting him to the egg trembled—ever so slightly, yet unmistakably. Before he could react, he felt something being pulled from him.

A familiar sensation.

His pupils constricted.

From his body, faint strands of golden radiance began to seep out, like mist being siphoned away. They flowed along the invisible link and were swallowed greedily by the egg.

Wang Chen watched in stunned silence as the egg's shell gleamed brighter… and its size increased right before his eyes.

The change was small.

But real.

"…Wait."

His heartbeat skipped.

"No. Don't tell me—"

The realization struck like a hammer to the skull.

"This thing is devouring my fate to grow."

For a brief moment, Wang Chen genuinely considered throwing the egg across the room.

Hard.

Bleeding away fortune was not just dangerous—it was his worst nightmare. Cultivation could be recovered. Spiritual strength could be replenished. Even lifespan had solutions.

But fortune?

That was something even heaven guarded jealously.

His gaze turned razor-sharp as he stared at the egg, now floating innocently as if nothing had happened.

So that was it.

No qi. No blood essence.

It wanted him.

More precisely—his luck, his destiny, the invisible thread that kept him from dying like an extra in someone else's story.

Wang Chen inhaled slowly, forcing his raging thoughts back under control.

"…You little bastard."

The egg did not respond, but the faint pulse of satisfaction that traveled through the soul-link made his eyelid twitch violently.

Ancient divine beast.

Fate-devouring.

Unborn—and already a parasite.

Wang Chen clenched his fist, cold sweat forming on his palm.

If he let this continue unchecked, the consequences would be catastrophic.

This was no longer a question of how to raise it.

It was a question of whether he could afford to let it live at all.

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